Dental profiling in the archaeological sample of the Illyrian population in Southern Dalmatia, Croatia.

Dental profiling is the process of analyzing teeth to identify a victim or skeletal remains when no antemortem data are available. Using dental profiling techniques, we can determine the age, sex, and population of the individual and gather data about their socio-economic status, personal habits, oral and systemic health, occupation, nutrition, family relationships, and psychological characteristics. The research aims to gain insights into the diet, health, socio-economic status, and demography of the Late Iron Age inhabitants of Illyrian origin who lived on the Croatian island of Korcula.

High-temperature transport properties of a two-dimensional weakly doped parabolic semiconductor.

A version of the Mexican-hat Hamiltonian is used to study high-temperature transport properties of a two-dimensional weakly doped semiconductor with electron-hole symmetric bands. For a finite doping level and a temperature-dependent band gap, we find a closed analytical form of the temperature-dependent chemical potential. The effective concentrations of charge carriers participating in transport coefficients are analyzed in the space spanned by the total electron concentration and temperature.

Spectroscopic Investigation of Tomato Seed Germination Stimulated by spp.

Seed germination is a complex process that can be negatively affected by numerous stresses. spp. are known as effective biocontrol agents as well as plant growth and germination stimulators.

Chemical Constituents of Stinging Nettle ( L.): A Comprehensive Review on Phenolic and Polyphenolic Compounds and Their Bioactivity.

Polyphenolic compounds are of great interest in today's science. Naturally, they occur in plants and other sources in many different forms. Their wide range of biological activity has attracted the attention of the scientific community.

Charge stripes in the graphene-based materials.

We present an analytical model of the charge density wave instability in graphene sheets within the intercalated graphite CaC compound. The instability yields the experimentally observed uniaxial charge stripes of periodically modulated electron density, coupled to the softest phonon mode of the superlattice consisting of the Ca atoms intercalated between graphene planes. The Fermi surface of the chemically doped graphene undergoes the novel type of instability driven by the mechanism that gains the condensation energy of the stripe state by the topological reconstruction of the Fermi surface.

Fluctuation Electron Microscopy on Amorphous Silicon and Amorphous Germanium.

Variable resolution fluctuation electron microscopy experiments were performed on self-ion implanted amorphous silicon and amorphous germanium to analyze the medium-range order. The results highlight that the commonly used pair-persistence analysis is influenced by the experimental conditions. Precisely, the structural correlation length Λ, a metric for the medium-range order length scale in the material, obtained from this particular evaluation varies depending on whether energy filtering is used to acquire the data.

Challenges of Electron Correlation Microscopy on Amorphous Silicon and Amorphous Germanium.

Electron correlation microscopy experiments were conducted on amorphous germanium (a-Ge) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) with the goal to study self-diffusion. For this purpose, a series of tilted dark-field images were acquired during in situ heating of the samples in a transmission electron microscope. These experiments show that the measurements are greatly affected by artefacts.

Screening of Native Species for Nickel and Copper Bioremediation Potential Determined by FTIR and XRF.

Soil pollution with heavy metals is a serious threat to the environment. However, soils polluted with heavy metals are considered good sources of native metal-resistant strains. spp.

Artificial Neural Network Prediction of Antiadhesion and Antibiofilm-Forming Effects of Antimicrobial Active Mushroom Extracts on Food-Borne Pathogens.

The problem of microbial biofilms has come to the fore alongside food, pharmaceutical, and healthcare industrialization. The development of new antibiofilm products has become urgent, but it includes bioprospecting and is time and money-consuming. Contemporary efforts are directed at the pursuit of effective compounds of natural origin, also known as "green" agents.

Teeth macroabrasion for determination of dental age and diet in the Illyrian population from the Kopila necropolis on the Island of Korčula, Croatia.

This paper presents the changes caused by macroabrasion of teeth on skeletal remains found in tomb No 4 in the west necropolis of the archeological site Kopila near Blato on the island of Korčula. The site archeologically dates back to the Late Iron Age, when the island was inhabited by the Illyrians. The aim of this study was to assess the dental age of the buried individuals at death and determine the type of their diet, which could give us a preliminary insight into the socio-economic standard of the inhabitants of the settlement.

The effect of various extraction techniques on the quality of sage ( L.) essential oil, expressed by chemical composition, thermal properties and biological activity.

In this study, influence of the extraction techniques on the quality of the sage essential oil was investigated. Obtained samples were analyzed for chemical composition by GC/MS, thermal properties by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and for biological activity: antioxidant (DPPH, CUPRAC, FRAP, ABTS, HRSA and TBARS), microbiological (, , , , and ), and cytotoxic (HeLa, LS-174, A549 and MRC-5) activities. Chemical composition showed that viridiflorol was principal compound in all samples followed by camphor, thujones, and verticiol.

Focused Ion Beam Sample Preparation for Thermal and Electrical Transmission Electron Microscopy.

A focused ion beam (FIB) technique describing the preparation of specimens for in situ thermal and electrical transmission electron microscopy is presented in detail. The method can be applied to a wide range of materials and allows the sample to be thinned down to electron transparency while it is attached to the in situ chip. This offers the advantage that the specimen can have a quality in terms of contamination and damage due to the ion beam that is comparable to samples prepared by means of conventional FIB preparation.

Comparison of Experimental STEM Conditions for Fluctuation Electron Microscopy.

Variable-resolution fluctuation electron microscopy (VR-FEM) data from measurements on amorphous silicon and PdNiP have been obtained at varying experimental conditions. Measurements have been conducted at identical total electron dose and with an identical electron dose normalized to the respective probe size. STEM probes of different sizes have been created by variation of the semi-convergence angle or by defocus.

A novel environmentally friendly method in solid phase for in situ synthesis of chitosan-gold bionanocomposites with catalytic applications.

A novel method to obtain catalytic bio-nanocomposites based on chitosan containing different amounts of gold nanoparticles generated in situ is reported. The formation of gold nanoparticles takes place in solid phase assisted by a heating induced process. This method only involves the use of chitosan biopolymer and a gold salt precursor.

Quantum Hall Effect with Composites of Magnetic Flux Tubes and Charged Particles.

Composites formed from charged particles and magnetic flux tubes, proposed by Wilczek, are one model for anyons-particles obeying fractional statistics. Here we propose a scheme for realizing charged flux tubes, in which a charged object with an intrinsic magnetic dipole moment is placed between two semi-infinite blocks of a high-permeability (μ_{r}) material, and the images of the magnetic moment create an effective flux tube. We show that the scheme can lead to a realization of Wilczek's anyons, when a two-dimensional electron system, which exhibits the integer quantum Hall effect, is sandwiched between two blocks of the high-μ_{r} material with a temporally fast response (in the cyclotron and Larmor frequency range).

Hepatocellular Carcinoma Surveillance-Experience from Croatian Referral Centre for Chronic Liver Diseases.

Purpose: For patients at high-risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), biannual ultrasound surveillance has long been recommended, in order to detect the tumor in the early, potentially curative stages. However, globally reported HCC surveillance rates vary greatly, ranging from as low as 1.7 to as high as 80%.

In situ preparation of film and hydrogel bio-nanocomposites of chitosan/fluorescein-copper with catalytic activity.

Copper nanoparticles were introduced into chitosan/fluorescein (Ch/f) film and hydrogel matrices by immersion of the respective matrix into an aqueous solution containing the precursor metallic salt and further reduction in aqueous medium at 75°C for 3h under nitrogen (N) atmosphere. TGA was used to estimate the metallic content of Ch/f-Cu film and hydrogel nanocomposites. The prepared nanocomposites were proven to be effective as catalytic materials in the reduction of methylene blue (MB) employing NH as reducing agent.

Copper-tolerant yeasts: Raman spectroscopy in determination of bioaccumulation mechanism.

Modern, efficient, and cost-effective approach to remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil is based on the application of microorganisms. In this paper, four isolates from agricultural and urban contaminated soil showed abundant growth in the presence of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO·5HO) up to 2 mM. Selected yeasts were identified by molecular methods as Candida tropicalis (three isolates) and Schwanniomyces occidentalis (one isolate).

Biobased Chitosan Nanocomposite Films Containing Gold Nanoparticles: Obtainment, Characterization, and Catalytic Activity Assessment.

A "green" two-step methodology to prepare biobased gold-chitosan nanocomposite films using chitosan and AuCl as a stabilizer and precursor, respectively, is reported. The biobased nanocomposites were prepared in situ by a wet chemical reduction method. Effects of hydrazine and l-ascorbic acid as different strength reducing agents on the characteristics of gold nanoparticles were observed.

The Role of Polymers in the Synthesis of Noble Metal Nanoparticles: A Review.

Lately, many efforts have been devoted to finding more efficient methods to prepare metal nanoparticles with controlled shapes and sizes, low polydispersity, high purity and good stability in a specific dispersion medium. Therefore, it is highly desired to develop synthetic routes that can contribute to tune the properties of metal nanoparticles for their potential applications in diverse scientific and technological fields. Thus, the application of polymers in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles has attracted great interest due to the better understanding of the parameters involved in the stabilization processes of metal nanoparticles.

[Benefit Assessment and Price Negotiation Under AMNOG: Calculable Process or Unfair Poker Game?].

Ever since the introduction of the Market Restructuring Act, the evaluation and price negotiations of drugs have been controversial. While the Federal Joint Committee considers that the process is transparent and in accordance with clear evidence-based criteria, representatives of pharmaceutical companies are particularly critical of the fact that the central association of statutory health insurance is involved in both the determination of added therapeutic benefit of drugs as well as in the subsequent price negotiation. In this study, we investigate these 2 contradictory assessments empirically.

[ABNORMALITIES OF HEMOSTASIS IN PATIENTS WITH LIVER CIRRHOSIS].

Until the beginning of the 90ies, it was believed that patients with liver cirrhosis were auto-anticoagulated and thus protected from thromboembolic events. However, new discoveries have broken the longstanding paradigm. In deranged hepatic function there is a reduced synthesis of procoagulants and endogenous anticoagulants, however, extrahepatally synthesized hemostatic and fibrinolytic factors are disproportionately affected.

Thermal and morphological behavior of chitosan/PEO blends containing gold nanoparticles. Experimental and theoretical studies.

Using solution-casting method, binary blends of chitosan (CS) and poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO 100,000) containing Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared. Shifts in the melting temperature (Tm) and crystallization temperature (Tc) values for CS/PEO and CS/PEO/AuNPs blends were observed by calorimetric analysis. In general, CS/PEO/AuNPs blends tended to decompose at higher temperatures than neat polymers.